If you’ve been reading about the foods I love, you’ll know I love dishes that celebrate vegetables in all their glory. Growing up as a vegetarian, I have always been surrounded by inventive cooks in my family who knew exactly how to make produce sing.
As summer comes to a close, I can’t help but rue the fact that I won’t be able to enjoy the amazing produce of the season much longer. Eggplant, zucchini, blueberries, strawberries – it makes me sad to know that I won’t be able to eat them at their peak for much longer.
So to make the most of what time we have left to enjoy this produce, here are 9 amazing recipes to help you make the most of the summer’s bounty.
1. Baked Eggplant
A way easier casserole dish than your typical parmigiana, this is perfect for a relaxed Friday evening dinner and is a giant belly hug. Succulent, tender eggplant melds with slow-cooked, squidgy onions and tomatoes and melty cheese.
#SpoonTip: Any mild-flavored melting cheese will do in this dish.
2. Vegetable Tian
A tian is a Provencal dish of vegetables baked in olive oil, aka that dish that they make in the movie Ratatouille, which is named after the earthenware dish it is baked in. Zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, and tomatoes are common in tians, but any seasonal summer vegetable can work well in this dish.
3. Zucchini Lasagna
No summer recipe compilation is complete without a good zucchini lasagna. Aube Giroux’s recipe is easily one of the best I have made. With tender zucchini, piquant tomatoes, and creamy, melty ricotta and parmesan, this lasagna manages to be very rich yet incredibly light. Serve with crusty garlic bread to mop up the sauce.
4. New-Fashioned Corn Pudding
To me, corn screams of summer. I have never had a taste for corn puddings or casseroles; I think the best way to eat corn is blanched, slathered in butter, coated in chili salt, and topped with a squeeze of lime. This casserole, though, takes corn to a whole new level. Instead of the sweet corn pudding you may know, cheddar, buttermilk, onion, and garlic come into play to add a kick to a dish that is often relegated to side dish status. Yum!
5. Roasted Red Pepper Pesto
Granted, this isn’t what you’d consider authentic Italian pesto, but it is the best way to make use of red bell peppers. You have a few options when it comes to this recipe. You can char the peppers over an open flame or on a gas range, or you can oven-roast and peel them. Blend with walnuts, sunflower seeds, and parmesan to make an incredibly sweet-savory, luscious sauce.
6. Roasted Potato Salad
We all need a good potato salad for the summer – this recipe is a riff on Spanish patatas bravas and combines crispy, crunchy potatoes with a fluffy interior with a drool-inducing garlicky mayo. As a mayo-hater myself, I’ve made a version of this with roasted garlic yogurt, and this salad is one of the best potato salads that I have ever eaten.
7. Easy Indo-Mauritian-Style Okra
I adore Okra and the multitudes of textures it can take on, from soft and squidgy to crispy on the outside but tender on the inside. Teenuja from the Veganlovlie Youtube channel has one of the best recipes for okra if you aren’t a fan of its texture. Don’t skimp on the crispy coating – this is what makes the dish incredibly tasty.
8. Mixed Vegetable Capellini With A Tomato-Mascarpone Sauce
Because let’s face it – we all need an easy weeknight dinner for those days where you have loads to do and little time to do it. Mascarpone shines here as the hero of our dish, and tender zucchini helps make the sauce oh-so-luscious while adding some nutrition in, too!
9. Our Finale: The Ultimate Berry Crumble
Tart, sweet, tender berries combine in a luxurious dessert that has the perfect contrast of textures and flavors. The best of summer berries? Yes, please!
Before the summer growing season ends, make sure to get ahold of these ingredients and make these dishes today! Celebrating the last of summer’s best fruit and vegetables never got easier.